Road trips from Kingman

This might be part of what was once the small mining town of Cerbat, AZ.

Roadkill Cafe in Seligman, AZ on Route 66.

This is "Red". The actual model of the firetruck in the movie "Cars". He is parked at the Grand Canyon Caverns off Route 66.

Click on this picture and you can see the area in this cavern where one can spend the night. They will even deliver pizza to you. It better be one good pizza for $700 a night.

Beautiful view of Davis Dam near Bullhead, AZ

Knowing we only had a couple more weekends here in Kingman, Kirk and I decided to take advantage of the nice weather and take a few last road trips. We drove toward Laughlin (where we have gone many times) and drove to Davis Dam. It's a beautiful section of the Colorado river at the Lake Mead Recreational Area. On another weekend we drove up Route 66 to Seligman. Before getting to Seligman, we stopped at the Grand Canyon Caverns. It was pretty interesting. We found out that this particular cavern is one of the few still considered as a fall-out shelter because of the extremely low humidity, and where many, many supplies are stored "just in case". One can even pay $700/night to stay in the cavern. Apparently, there have been weddings, and honeymoons in this cavern. They have a small space set up with everything you should need while staying the night in the cavern. We ate lunch at the Roadkill Cafe in Seligman, which was a little pricey ($16 for a small buffalo burger, which we shared). Is buffalo meat really that expensive? There is a zoo in Valentine, north off route 66 called Keepers of the Wild, however, we did not see this, and only learned of it after we returned to Kingman. Apparently it is a must see. The animals are mostly non-desert animals that have been rescued. If you take the guided tour, you will learn the stories behind the animals. Wish we had seen it. Our last weekend here, we drove to the ghost town of Cerbat. I think we made it there, but not sure, as it is no longer a "town", just the middle of the desert. The ride was fun though. You definitely have to have a 4-wheel drive vehicle to do most of the drive. We did see some old abandoned mines, a working mine (off Mineral Park road), and some great scenery. Kingman has been an interesting adventure. I have loved my job, meeting new people, seeing new places, but it's time to be closer to family. Our original plan in coming to AZ was to be near my 2 sisters in the Phoenix area. We are on our way to Mesa for the next month, enjoy our family, and wait to see where God places us next!

Quartzsite, AZ

Beginning sunset...beautiful sky at our RV spot in Quartzsite.

Hi Jolly Monument (Kirk has his "hair-hat on)

Tiffin boondockers in the desert...there were more behind these

The "Country Club Golf Course". Love the benches!

Kirk and I took our planned 4 day weekend to Quartzsite, AZ the weekend of the 20th of January. Kirk's birthday is 1/23 so this was also his birthday weekend. We had never been there, but had heard a lot about it. My brother and his wife had been several times, and after hearing their stories, we couldn't wait to go. We weren't quite sure about boondocking (like most do when they go) so we reserved a spot at a nearby RV park. We did drive out to where Tiffin owners were boondocking in the desert (The Event). After visiting with everyone there, we promised ourselves that when we return, we will boondock with the rest of them. We visited with them 2 afternoons. We met some great people, heard some great stories, and even won an umbrella in a raffle! We frequented all the places my brother told us "you have to go to". We had breakfast at La Mesa RV (a must do), ate pizza at Silly Al's, had a fun evening and listened to live music at Grubstake Social Club, ate another breakfast at Sweet Darlene's (lousy service), had good Mexican food at Taco Mio, visited the Hi Jolly Monument, toured the amazing golf course at the Country Club, attended the RV show, and crafts shows, and visited the famous
"naked owner" bookstore. We did many other things, but these were the highlights. Quartzsite has a population of around 2000, however, during the winter, there are over 1 million visitors. It really is an RV community. An absolutely great weekend!!

Bella's 2nd Birthday

Bella having fun at Chuckee Cheese for birthday #2.

Favorite cousins!! Bella loves her Ady!!

Bella loves Jesse from Toy Story!

Little brother, Isaac. Going with the flow, and enjoying the whole weekend.

Kirk and I are still in Kingman, AZ. However, we will be leaving this coming Thursday, 2/23/12, and heading to Mesa Spirit RV Resort in Mesa, AZ. So, since I will be finishing my assignment here I thought I should get caught up (again!) on our blog. Okay, I'm only a month and a half behind right now, so not as bad as usual. In January, I was reading FaceBook, texts, emails, etc., about all the planning for Bella's (Ben and Nicki's daughter) 2nd birthday party. The more I read and heard, the more I wanted to be there. After discussing this with Kirk, and knowing that I wouldn't be able to take any time off work, I booked a flight out of Vegas for Friday evening and to return Sunday evening. A quick trip, I know, but once I get something in my head, well.......! I decided that it would be a surprise, so I only told Kristy (my oldest, in MN). To make a long story short, it was a successful surprise. We all had a great time! And, I was exhausted at work on Monday. I missed Kirk while I was gone though.